Strawberry Almond Crumble Bars

I know, I know – Some of you are grumpy grumps. Mondays suck and all that jazz.

And trust me, I’m so with you on that.

Mondays do suck.

Mondays are such a let down after all the summer fun you had this weekend. You’re forced to tie that gorgeous salty sea beach hair in a bun and fake that corporate job. That tight severe bun means you need to be a productive member of society for at least 4 more days.

What you really want is to dig those toes in the sand for one more day. Just one more day!

But the mortgage and student loans will not pay themselves. So here you are, dreaming of the salty sea air and that beach house share in the Hamptons. Or the Jersey Shore. Or wherever it is you crazy kids summer.

Flow with me, let’s talk about these Strawberry Almond Crumble Bars. I make crumble bars in the summer. I love making crumble bars in summer.

Why?

1. The crumble is a multi-purpose situation. It serves as both crust and topping.

I don’t want to insult the other jams by saying this Strawberry Vanilla Jam is my favorite jam. OK, who the hell am I kidding?! This is my favorite summer jam. I make it whenever strawberries are on sale. I put it on errthang. And these Strawberry Almond Crumble bars are no exception.

As I mentioned earlier, the crust and topping for these bars is one and the same. The crumble can be mixed with any nut. I was trying to clean out my cupboards and found a bag of almonds. I chopped them up real quick and added them to a mixture of oats, flour, and brown sugar.

It may be a little too early for cinnamon; however, cinnamon adds warm and fuzzies to baked good. I mean, if you’re firing up the oven in 90° weather, why not add some warm and fuzzy to your ish? Melted butter is added and you mix for a few seconds to moisten. Add half to the pan, spread some jam, sprinkle the crumb topping and in the oven it goes ‘till the crumble browns and the jam bubbles slightly.

Oh, man!

Woo!!

I’ve been known to eat these bars straight out of the pan with vanilla ice cream. No shame in my game.

But if you’re the type who waits until baked goods cool off, then I’m going to suggest you glaze them. It’s a simple glaze with confectioners’ sugar, milk, and vanilla extract and it’s totally optional.

These bars, tho.

They cut beautifully, and taste better than they look.

If you plan to fire up the oven this summer, bake these bars. They may not change the fact that it’s Monday and Mondays do suck and you have to fake this whole adulting shit.

Instructions

Cut a sheet of parchment paper in half and then line bottom of an 8x8 inch pan with 1 sheet of parchment. Add the second sheet of parchment over the first sheet, in the opposite direction. The sheets should cross each other and have a small overhang. This will facilitate the removal of your bars from then pan. Alternatively, you can line the pan with aluminum foil the same way. If, and only if you are using foil, spray a light coating of vegetable spray.

In a medium bowl, add flour, chopped almonds, oats, ground cinnamon, brown sugar, and salt. Mix with your hands or with a fork to combine. Stir in the melted butter and mix with a fork until the mixture is well coated with the butter and all dry ingredients are well moistened.

Spread half the oat/almond crumble mixture, covering the bottom of the pan. Press to form a thin crust that’s about ¼ inch in thickness. Spread strawberry jam over almond/oat crumble mixture evenly using a small offset spatula. Sprinkle remaining almond/oat crumble mixture over the strawberry jam.

Place pan in the oven and bake until the crumble is a golden brown, about 35 to 40 minutes. Set on a wire rack and cool to room temperature. Use the parchment paper “handles” to remove bars from pan. Glaze, if desired. Cut into squares and serve.

Makes 9 large squares.

For the glaze

In a small bowl, combine confectioners' sugar, milk, and vanilla extract. Mix with a fork until combined. Glaze over bars.